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Pens Travel Blog From Sweden - Day 5

by
Staff Writer
/ Pittsburgh Penguins

Pens representatives will be providing an ongoing travel blog during the trip to Sweden and Finland for the Bridgestone Premeire. Check back for updates throughout the day, including photos and video. Click here for full Premiere coverage!

5:25pm EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (11:25pm CEST - Central European Summer Time)Fresh off their 4-1 win over Jokerit in Finland, the Penguins arrived back in Sweden at 11:10 p.m. Stockholm time (5:10 p.m. Pittsburgh time) on Thursday. The Penguins and Ottawa Senators will both practice Friday afternoon at Globe Arena, with the workouts open to the public here. The Penguins take the ice at 3:30 Stockholm time. They will make one final player move Friday to get down to a 24-man roster for Saturday's opener. Coach Michel Therrien also is expected to announce his alternate captains. 1:46pm EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (7:46pm CEST - Central European Summer Time) Pascal Dupuis iced the game for the Penguins with an empty goal to make it 4-1 with 13 seconds to play. Sidney Crosby picked up his third assist of the game. Hal Gill also assisted.

1:34pm EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (7:34pm CEST - Central European Summer Time) The Penguins built the lead to 3-1 on a goal by Tyler Kennedy at 12:00 of the third period. Finnish native Janne Pesonen had an assist on the play. Kris Letang also got an assist.

1:20pm EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (7:20pm CEST - Central European Summer Time) Jokerit's Janne Lahti scored on a penalty shot against Dany Sabourin at 5:03 of the third period, chipping the Penguins' lead to 2-1. The penalty shot was called after Brooks Orpik pulled down Lahti on a break.

HELSINKI, Finland - The Penguins continued to hold a 2-0 lead over Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League after two periods of the "NHL Challenge" Thursday at Hartwall Arena.

Sidney Crosby set up first-period goals by Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko to stake the Penguins to the lead.Malkin scored on a power play slap shot at 9:00 of the first. Rookie defenseman Alex Goligoski also assisted on the play.

Fedotenko then connected with nine seconds left in the period, off assists from linemates Crosby and Miroslav Satan.Marc-Andre Fleury blanked the Jokerit attack during 33:03 of action. He was replaced by backup Dany Sabourin with 6:57 left in the second period. Coach Michel Therrien said before the game that he wanted both goalies to see action against Jokerit.

The Finnish crowd was enjoying the Penguins' performance, and sporadic chants of "Let's Go Penguins" were heard during the play.

12:45pm EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (6:45pm CEST - Central European Summer Time) Dany Sabourin replaced Marc-Andre Fleury in goal at the 13:03 mark of the second period, with the Penguins still leading, 2-0. Coach Michel Therrien said before the game that he wanted both goaltenders to get game action against Jokerit.

HELSINKI, Finland -- Sidney Crosby assisted on goals by Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko as the Penguins took a 2-0 lead over Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League after one period Thursday at Hartwall Arena.

Malkin scored on a power play slap shot at 9:00 of the first, off feeds from Alex Goligoski and Crosby.Fedotenko then struck with nine seconds left in the period, as linemates Crosby and Miroslav Satan got the assists.Marc-Andre Fleury blanked the Jokerit attack, including one power play chance, in the first.Many fans in the crowd were wearing Crosby jerseys, and both Penguins goals were met with applause. The Penguins also sent video and graphics, which are being used on the Jumbotron here.

First song of the first break: Cotton-Eyed Joe.

12:06pm EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (6:06pm CEST - Central European Summer Time) The Penguins took a 2-0 lead on Ruslan Fedotenko's goal with nine seconds left in the first period. Sidney Crosby set up the goal - his second assist of the game - and Miroslav Satan also had an assist.

11:58am EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (5:58pm CEST - Central European Summer Time) The Penguins took a 1-0 lead on a power play at 9:00 of the first period as Evgeni Malkin blasted a slap shot off a feed from Alex Goligoski. Sidney Crosby also assisted on the play. Malkin's goal was greeted by cheers from the crowd in Jokerit's home rink..

In one suite at Hartwall Arena, all 16 fans are wearing Crosby jerseys.The Penguins provided video and graphics, which are being used on the Jumbotron here.

11:48am EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (5:48pm CEST - Central European Summer Time) Evgeni Malkin scores against Jokerit on a Power Play at 9:00 of the first period. Assisted by Goligoski and Crosby.

11:38am EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (5:38pm CEST - Central European Summer Time)The game in Helsinki is underway. Petr Sykora is out with a sore groin, so Coach Michel Therrien started Finnish native Janne Pesonen at right wing with Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal. The Penguins have an early power play and they are playing "Cotton Eyed joe."

11:18am EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (5:18pm CEST - Central European Summer Time)Barbara Barrett, the U.S. ambassador to Finland, and Scott Fraser, the Canadian ambassador, will be in attendance at the Jokerit game as guests of the Penguins. Among the retired Jokerit numbers hanging at Hartwall Arena are those of former NHL stars and Stanley Cup champions Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen. Pre-game warmups are finished. The Penguins are wearing their black uniforms. Jokerit is wearing white with splashes of color common among European teams. There are 16 advertisements in the ice, including one in each faceoff circle. And there are a lot of fans in Crosby jerseys.

10:36am EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (4:36pm CEST - Central European Summer Time)The Penguins touched down in Finland a few hours before their "NHL Challenge" against Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League. Helsinki's impressive Hartwall Arena has a typical European ice surface - 15 feet wider than NHL rinks, which will require a quick adjustment from the Penguins' players. Former Penguins winger Jani Rita plays for Jokerit. The coach is Glen Hanlon, former NHL goaltender and former coach of the Washington Capitals. Word has it that this game sold out in 28 minutes when tickets went on sale this summer.

5:45am EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (11:45am CEST - Central European Summer Time)The Penguins will dress 21 players for Thursday's pre-season game against Jokerit in Helsinki, Finland - one more than teams are allowed to dress for NHL games. The lineup will include 12 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders. Game time is 11:30 a.m. Pittsburgh time.

Line combinations will be Ruslan Fedotenko-Sidney Crosby-Miroslav Satan, Jordan Staal-Evgeni Malkin-Petr Sykora, Pascal Dupuis-Tyler Kennedy-Matt Cooke, and Janne Pesonen-Jeff Taffe-Eric Godard. Two of the defense pairings will be Hal Gill-Rob Scuderi and Brooks Orpik-Kris Letang. Mark Eaton, Darryl Sydor and Alex Goligoski also will play on defense. Marc-Andre Fleury and Dany Sabourin will share the goaltending duties.

Max Talbot is out with a sore leg and Bill Thomas, Paul Bissonnette and John Curry will be scratches. The Penguins wil have to make one more roster move Friday to get down to an NHL roster of 24 before Saturday's regular season opener against Ottawa in Stockholm.

5:34am EST, Thursday Oct. 2nd (11:34am CEST - Central European Summer Time)The Penguins began Thursday in Stockholm with a traditional game-day morning skate at Globe Arena. They hit the ice at 10 a.m. Stockholm time (4 a.m. in Pittsburgh). After the skate, they will have a team meal at the arena before boarding a plane for Helsinki, Finland and their final pre-season game against Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League.

The team will move into yet another time zone - a seven-hour time difference -- as it crosses the Baltic Sea into Finland. That means that the 6:30 start time in Helsinki translates to 11:30 a.m. In Pittsburgh.

The Penguins will be able to dress 21 players for the game in Finland, one more than the NHL allows for regular season games. They will dress 19 skaters and two goaltenders (as opposed to the normal 18 and two).